Quod Draco Susurro
by keeiko
Summary: When Levy finds a mysterious book (in her own library), she soon determines it as a book on dragons. Lucy and Levy try to decipher what it means in an attempt to find Igneel, with the help of Makarov's old friend, Jude Carmellore, an interesting draconology expert who has captured Levy's attention. Meanwhile, Lucy struggles with an illness causing her to have unpredictable feelings
1. The Book

Natsu was a dragon.

...Basically.

And Lucy often found herself using that as an excuse for many of his actions. Eating a grossly large amount of food, she noted, was due to his dragon metabolism (that also accounted for his slim figure despite the overeating; Mavis, did she envy that ability). His idiocy and lack of human manners? All from being a dragon. Dragons weren't human. Boom.

So when he broke into her flat every week, she began to pass it off as another weird dragon trait. This way she didn't waste precious time considering the other reasons he could be visiting her constantly. It was full-proof. Until, that is, Levy showed her a very interesting book. One, in fact, that did somewhat prove her dragon theory.

But in the worst way possible.

Lucy perused through Levy's extensive home-library, humming a song to herself.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, stopping her finger at a sizable leather cerulean novel. Turning it to its front, she let her fingers splay over the letters: MAGNOLIA: A HISTORY. This would surely help her with her own story; after all, the background was inspired after her hometown. As she began to open to the front page, she heard a familiar squeal to her right.

Lucy cocked her head in that direction.

"Levy, what's u-"

Her best friend practically bounced over, her eyes gleaming. "Lu, you've gotta check this out."

Lucy sighed and stepped down from the stool she'd been standing on, excited nonetheless. Levy was a sort of book connoisseur, so any novel she found that surprised her had to be special.

The book fiend let the novel drop on a table, the thump following suggesting just how enormous it was, if the physical appearance didn't give it away already. The outer pages were gold, the cover a rich maroon hue. There was no title.

"So-"

"I just found this!" If Levy interrupted her this much, Lucy knew it had to be a good.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You just found this. In your own library."

Levy ignored her, tapping her foot on the carpet. "It's from centuries ago. Some pages were torn out so I can't determine the exact date but, if my sources are correct, this type of material-" She pointed to the cover of the novel. "-was only made about 300 years ago, until a disease wiped out the tree that produced it. Therefore, it's either 3 centuries old, or more."

Lucy whistled. Her friend nodded excitedly, whipping out her special reading glasses and placing them atop her nose. She flipped to the first page, where a slew of seemingly random symbols were drawn vertically in what looked like a fountain pen.

Levy seemed to read her mind. "This writing isn't pen, although I thought so myself. It's a magic ink, used with a very special quill." At this, Levy turned to Lucy with bright eyes. "A Phoenix feather."

She gasped. "No way!" Those were really expensive, weren't they?

Before she could ask how, Levy continued, her voice considerable higher. "It's incredible, isn't it? The ink has a silvery gloss to it, and with my glasses I was able to see traces of gold and red, too."

"That's no ordinary ink."

"Exactly. This book is one in a million, Lu!"

Lucy clapped her hands together and smiled widely. "Well, do you know what it's about?"

Levy grinned back. "Oh, do I. This baby is something I'm sure you'll be interested in."

Lucy squealed inwardly. Maybe it held secrets about celestial keys? No, she shouldn't get her hopes up. "O-oh? And what's that?" Please be keys, please be keys, please be keys-

Levy peered at Lucy over her glasses, patting the book and smirking.

"Dragons."

"S-sorry?"

"Dragons!" Levy sang, waving her hands around.

Despite herself, Lucy was intrigued. "Dragons are such rare creatures nowadays. I wonder-"

"-if Natsu can use it to find Igneel? Me too!" Levy squealed, shoving the book into Lucy's hands. Her legs caved in and she huffed, hoisting the novel on to her hip.

"How- how did you even, oof, find this?" Lucy strained.

Oblivious to her friend's pain, Levy crossed her arms and tapped a finger on her chin. "I figured I was overdo for a checkup on my library. I'm kind of a compulsive book buyer."

Lucy almost rolled her eyes. 'Kind of' was an gross understatement.

"I found it at this big used book sale just outside Fairy Hills, under a bunch of boxes. I remember thinking the cover was intriguing, so I picked it up."

"You literally judged a book by its cover?"

Levy shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

Lucy couldn't.

"Anyway," Levy continued. "I found these symbols familiar, so I checked as many resources as I could on magic dialects. When I couldn't find anything in the main books, I resorted to my obscure section. And there it was!" Levy bit her lip, her eyes ablaze with excitement and determination- a look Lucy was all too familiar with. She smiled inwardly. "An ancient writing system that was used by dark magic users to communicate to each other in secret."

"A magic cult?"

"Precisely. In its time, it was a legitimate language. Today, however, it's been used infrequently as a secret code. So I managed to decipher it and it's all about dragon lore." Levy threw her hands up. "Do you how long I've searched for literature on draconology? Whenever I find any sort of cryptozoology novels, there's no mentions of dragons anywhere."

At Lucy's blank stare, Levy elaborated. "Cryptozoology- study of mythical and unknown creatures."

"Ah."

"So it talks all about dragon history and the types of dragons and even goes into their behavioral patterns."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Does it have any information on Igneel?"

"Not that I've seen yet." Levy winked. "But it does have an entire chapter on dragon slayers."

Lucy's jaw dropped. "No. Way."

"Yes way!"

"So- so have you figured out what it said?"

Levy shook her head. "Not completely. It takes quite some time. I only finished part of it recently because I wanted to show you. But I did decipher the title." A dramatic pause. "Dragon Slayer Behavioral Patterns."

Lucy felt her stomach drop. "So this is gonna tell us why Natsu is such a ditz?"

"Well, yes." Levy chuckled. "And why he's so keen on having you around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I may or may not have seen a bit of a paragraph on courtship patterns."

Lucy almost burst out laughing. "Are you serious? It's like they think dragon-slayers are dragons, too."

"It is stupid, isn't it?" Levy giggled. "But maybe it has some truth to it, eh?" She elbowed Lucy's side with a smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes, shifting the book's weight. "Oh please. That boy is as dense as it comes."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

"He says he hangs with me so he can raid my fridge." Lucy deadpanned.

"He might be lying."

"I don't think Natsu understands the meaning of lying. Especially since I'm his 'nakama'."

Levy pursed her lips. "Ok you have a point."

"You better believe it." Lucy gave her a wary look. "So what am I supposed to do with th-"

"I'll need some time to look up the dialect's full alphabet and make a translator, and since nobody else can take the book, I guess you can hold on to it for me."

"Glad to know I'm your last resort."

Levy pivoted and went back to her desk, laughing. "You know I love you, Lu."

"Yeah, yeah."


	2. The Puppy-Slayer

Back at home, Lucy debated where to place a book the size of her arm. Knowing how much it meant to Levy, she figured she should keep it out of Natsu's reach. But where the hell could Natsu not get to?

"LUCY!"

Speak of the devil.

"You know," Lucy said, still looking for a safe spot for the novel. "I'm not really surprised by your visits anymore. So no, that didn't scare me."

"Oh c'mon." Natsu pouted, his voice just behind her. "I thought it was scary."

"Good to know the almighty Salamander is scared of himself."

"If I wasn't me, and I saw me, I'd be scared of me, too."

"That might be the least intelligent thing I've ever heard you say." Lucy finally turned around, opting to leave the book on the coffee table.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm super-extra smart." Case in point. Natsu smiled at her, and Lucy couldn't find it in herself to stay mad at him. She sighed, walking around him to grab some pajamas from her dresser.

"So what brings you to my humble home at 11:30 pm?" She held up an oversized t-shirt with the words I SURVIVED THE MAGIC GAMES written on it in bold green letters. She didn't remember getting it, but decided to wear it nonetheless.

"I dunno. Felt like it."

This was not a new response. "Are you staying here tonight?" She knew the answer before he even said it.

"Yup."

"Go get your pjs- they're in the bathroom cabinet like usual. And your toothbrush is next to the sink in your red mug."

"Gotcha."

And he padded off to the bathroom, a swing in his step. Lucy lifted her tank-top off, sliding into the green shirt.

When Natsu returned, clad in his sweatpants and Puff the Magic Dragon tank (she would never let him live that down), he gave her an amused look.

"What? Is there something in my hair?" She asked, patting her head.

Natsu chuckled, pointing to her chest. "Nothin', just that that's my shirt you're wearing."

Lucy's cheeks flamed. "How the hell did it end up in my wardrobe?!"

Natsu flopped onto her bed. "Not sure. Maybe you put them into the same wash by accident? You're pretty clumsy, so it'd make sense."

Lucy strode over to stare down at him, her eyebrows raised, cheeks still dusted pink. "Says the boy who destroys everything he touches."

Natsu reached up to boop her nose, giving her a toothy grin. "Not everything."

There was a pause in which Lucy contemplated whether she found him incredibly annoying, or utterly adorable. Currently she was leaning towards the latter.

She clutched her heart and sighed dramatically, falling onto the mattress with a thump.

"Ah! You've hurt me! You're so clumsy!"

Natsu giggled and sat up on his elbows. "You're dumb."

"Nice comeback."

"The best."

She ruffled his hair, always surprised at how soft it was. "You're an idiot," she sighed, scratching his head. He hummed contently, nudging his head into her palm. Lucy thought back to the book. Maybe he didn't act like a dragon, but he often resembled a puppy. Puppy-slayer. The thought made her giggle.

"Weirdo."

She retracted her hand, smirking. "Then no more head-scratches for you." After shuffling under the covers, she heard a whine.

"But Luuuuucy-! Pleeeeease?"

Definitely a puppy.


End file.
